The 94-hectare botanic garden , near the Pepito Tey sugar mill, 17km east of Cienfuegos, is one of Cuba’s biggest gardens. It houses 2000 species of plants, including 23 types of bamboo, 65 of fig and 280 different palms. The botanic garden was founded in 1901 by US sugar baron Edwin F Atkins who initially intended to use it to study different varieties of sugarcane, but instead began planting exotic tropical trees from around the world.
